Theme 1: Grassland Ecology
Description
Biodiversity is all the living species that inhabit the planet: plants, animals, microorganisms, but also their genetic diversity and all the ecosystems in which they live. The preservation of biodiversity is vital, because the organisms that constitute it participate in the major ecological cycles of air, soil and water It is today recognized for its intrinsic value and for the functions it provides in ecosystems. The grassland and the hedges that surround them play a key role in carbon storage, water purification, biodiversity and the typicity of landscapes. They partly provide the plants necessary for feeding herds of herbivores (cattle, goats, sheep, equines). Generally composed of a plant diversity and agroecological infrastructures (hedges, ponds), the meadows offer shelter (nesting) and cover to an infinity of species which enrich each other and form a community with multiple assets ecological. The relationship between plant diversity and the primary production of grassland ecosystems is still the subject of debate today. We most often observe a positive relationship between diversity and biomass production in reconstituted plant communities (results of experiments on artificial communities) and a negative relationship in natural communities (results of observations on permanent grasslands in place for several years).
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Biodiversity and the Ecological Role of Grasslands Environment and Territory
Biodiversity is all the living species that inhabit the planet: plants, animals, microorganisms, but also their genetic diversity and all the ecosystems in which they live. The preservation of biodiversity is vital, because the organisms that constitute it participate in the major ecological cycles of air, soil and water It is today recognized for its intrinsic value and for the functions it provides in ecosystems. The grassland and the hedges that surround them play a key role in carbon storage, water purification, biodiversity and the typicity of landscapes. They partly provide the plants necessary for feeding herds of herbivores (cattle, goats, sheep, equines). Generally composed of a plant diversity and agroecological infrastructures (hedges, ponds), the meadows offer shelter (nesting) and cover to an infinity of species which enrich each other and form a community with multiple assets ecological. The relationship between plant diversity and the primary production of grassland ecosystems is still the subject of debate today. We most often observe a positive relationship between diversity and biomass production in reconstituted plant communities (results of experiments on artificial communities) and a negative relationship in natural communities (results of observations on permanent grasslands in place for several years).
